Have banana, will travel: Fruity art car visits Humboldt County

It's hard to miss Steve Braithwaite. He drives a banana.

His art car was taking fruity automotive fans - including this intrepid reporter - on rides out of the Fiesta Cafe parking lot on Saturday.

The self-identified hot rodder said the inspiration came from an episode of Top Gear, the British racing show.

"They had two crazy vehicles. They had the world's fastest garden shed and a fully street-legal couch. So I'm watching this, thinking, ‘Huh, what can I build that's ridiculous?' And for a month, everything I looked at, ‘Can I turn that into a car?' "

Finally, he found the perfect - and appealing - shape for the car.

"One day, I'm standing in line in a gas (station)… and there's a bowl of fruit next to me, and on top was a banana exactly that shape," he said, pointing to his vehicle in the parking lot. "I've always thought of bananas as that boomerang shape, and that wouldn't work because you wouldn't see the road ahead. So, but I picked this up and I'm studying it, thinking, ‘All right, the wheels will go there, the windshield, the bumpers,' and I pictured it driving down the road and started laughing. And I was so engrossed in this, I didn't realize the line ahead of me had cleared, and I'm now standing in the middle of a gas station with people behind me staring at a banana."

The Oxford, England native, who now lives in Michigan, said it was after that his banana rod began to take shape.

Starting with a base F-150, he modeled his vehicle by upscaling a real banana. This banana was one he found after much study in a grocery store because he didn't actually buy the initial banana that inspired the vehicle's shape.

"I chose the perfect banana, cut it into inch slices, drew around each slice and numbered them, projected those full size onto wood, fitted those on the frame, and then used that as a buck to run rebar to make a skeleton of banana," he explained. "As the skeleton was made, I took all the wood out, then I covered the skeleton in chicken wire, sprayed it with urethane foam, like you insulate houses with, sculpted that to a nice banana shape, and then fiberglassed over the top."

While Braithwaite finished a taco meal at Fiesta Cafe and explained the inner workings of his mobile banana, onlookers began to gather in the parking lot, snapping photos and asking about the vehicle.

Braithwaite offers rides on a pay-what-you-can scale and balances his budget with sales of mugs and T-shirts.

Eureka resident Jessica Gaube and her nearly 7-year-old son, Weston, were among those checking out the car. Weston said he was excited about taking a ride in a banana and mom had a booster seat on hand. While Gaube bowed out of the ride, Weston eagerly climbed in.

Weston is a car aficionado and said he plans to operate a Lamborghini and Bugatti dealership when he grows up. But while still young, he might enjoy a Matchbox, which made Braithwaite's vehicle at 1/64th size.

"Mattel contacted me out the blue, asking if they could turn my car into a Matchbox toy, and my first thought was, ‘Oh, finally, I can buy a house.' No, I don't get paid anything for that. No royalties. Nothing. But I did insist my name be on the packaging."

This reporter hopped in the second seat of a four-seat banana for a ride around town with Braithwaite and the response was fantastic. Cars passing by honked horns, several people waved and took photos.

He noted it's not always easy to change lanes in a banana.

"People are taking pictures and waving. I have to point at my light," he said.

He also said he gets pulled over regularly.

"I was in Mexico recently. I got pulled over five times in three days."

Asked whether he got a ticket, he said no, but one cop told him that he was seen "peeling off."

The banana car will be at Fiesta Cafe on Saturday until 9 p.m. On Sunday, find the banana in Arcata and Blue Lake.

Learn more

Find out about the traveling banana at bigbananacar.com or check out the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BigBananaCar.

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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 8:04 PM.